


Unmiraculous

by Bisabis



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Gen, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, chloe is actually tolerable?, everyone gets a miraculous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 04:56:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14301276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bisabis/pseuds/Bisabis
Summary: It finally happened. Marinette confessed, with disastrous results. She was akumatised and turned into The Seamstress. 2 years after starting the vigilante business, things have gone to hell.Author's note: I know I'm not the first. I was just heavily inspired by this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xz4NV0zsbY and the Rena Rouge episode, and I wanted everyone in their class to get a miraculous. I have a friend who's interested in doing a lyricstuck, but she's currently busy, and lyricstucks take time we don't have.





	Unmiraculous

It all started when Adrien turned her down for Ladybug. She stayed up all night writing her letter. Her writing teacher even looked over it that morning, since it started out as homework that sort of evolved into something real and heartfelt. Of course, she had waited until the last minute because of superhero work, but she still got a good grade on it. 

She caught him after school before fencing club.

“Can I talk to you?” She asked slowly, making sure not to trip over her words as usual.

He smiled down at her. He had grown approximately twenty point five centimeters since she met him two years ago, while she only grew three or four. she blamed her mom’s short genes. Maybe if she were taller like her dad, she could be a model like Adrien. She wasn’t bothered by it too much, though. It kept her light during akuma battles and it was the perfect height difference between herself and Adrien. She still said it dreamily in her head.

“Sure,” he said. He waved goodbye at his overly supportive fencing friends and followed her just outside their school building.

“A letter for you I have!” She held it out to him with both hands, already embarrassed that she sounded just like Yoda.

She was relieved he didn’t laugh, instead smiling sweetly. He took the letter and opened it with a small pop of the star-shaped sticker. She hoped it wasn’t too childish. She watch his minute expressions while he read, and they weren’t good. She already felt her stomach drop.

“Adrien?”

He looked up, lowering the letter just so. “I’m sorry, Marinette.”

It was at that point did her heart shatter.

Somewhere close by, the aperture of opportunity opened wide.

“It’s not that i don’t like you, i just think we’re better friends. I have feelings for another and I can’t betray her. I’ve already known her for so long and–are you okay?”

She didn’t want to cry, but her eyes did it anyway. “Allergies! Pesky flu viruses!” She rubbed her nose roughly. “It’s fine!”

“Do you need a tissue or anything?” He was still so nice. So thoughtful. And she was still petrified of talking with him normally. She went through the scenario in her head if she used tears to convince him: dating, holding hands, but watching him slowly slip away because he had feelings for another, then break-up, then their relationship was ruined. She didn’t want that. Maybe it was for the best that they didn’t date at all. Mom and dad always said to wait until college.

She smiled and said, “It’s okay. I agree! We shouldn’t because it wouldn’t be fair to you.” She turned, finally breaking face. “See you tomorrow!” She didn’t wait for a response. She ran straight home, ignoring her parents welcoming her home from busy cash registers. She buried herself under the covers and asked herself:

“What if I confessed as Ladybug?”

Tikki, who had been faithfully waiting in her bag all day, suddenly phased through her confines and threw off Marinette’s covers. “No! You mustn’t! Your identity and Adrien’s life could be at stake! You’ve done so well these past few years and I don’t want to see that all thrown away. I’ve been living a long time and I can tell you that you still have time. Just because a boy rejects you now doesn’t mean—”

“You just don’t want us to succeed.”

Tikki blinked, then tilted her head curiously. “What?”

She sat up. “You don’t want us together. Do you?”

Tikki did not respond right away. She knew Adrien was Chat Noir, and she wasn’t prepared with an excuse for them not to be together. She thought she had more time.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Marinette said angrily, “I already know why.” She stormed up her stairs onto the roof and slammed the door shut. She knew full well that that wouldn’t stop her kwami. But she felt better about it. When Tikki didn’t force herself into Marinette’s personal space, she relaxed a bit. She felt more freedom to cry up there when she was sure no one was watching.

But as she would soon find out, someone is always watching.

She should have been paying attention to the speck of black and purple flying at her. She should have seen it coming. Of all the people she and Chat Noir have saved over the years, she knew they were hurting. Most cases had revolves around the people around her, and if she had more time she would investigate better. But not having time was not a good excuse.

She felt a darkness fall over her and heard the unmistakable voice of Hawkmoth tell her what to do. A persistent voice in the back of her mind screamed and struggled against his, causing her to double over.

“Seamstress,” he said in his soothing voice. “You long to be loved, and I can make that happen for you. All you have to do is—”

“Get you the miraculous?” She said with a growing smile. “Well, consider today your lucky day.”

“Marinette!” Tikki gasped.

Marinette stood up and faced her kwami. “Just in time,” she said. She removed her earrings and Tikki disappeared. As soon as she did that, she fully transformed into the Seamstress. Ribbons flowed from her wrist and shoulders, and had a black and white tux-like tail. The entire outfit was black and white. Very chic. She had never designed better.

“This truly is my lucky day,” Hawkmoth said delightfully. “Ladybug herself falling right into my grasp.” He laughed giddily. “Now retrieve Chat Noir’s miraculous and bring them both to me!”

“Yes, Hawkmoth.” At that, the Seamstress crouched and leapt from her rooftop to the next building over. There, she waited. There was something she needed to do first.

She waited until fencing club was over, and all the members exited the building. She considered waiting until he got home, but she wanted her revenge, first. She watched Adrien exit the building, her heart fluttering with anticipation. As soon as he reached the chauffeur, she leapt  from her perch and landed close behind him. Years of practicing as Ladybug were shining through.

He jumped at the sudden movement she had made, and her caretakers got out immediately. Natalie, who was faithful to Adrien from the beginning, called out to him. The gorilla got out so quickly, he nearly ripped the door off.

“This doesn’t involve you!” the Seamstress shouted to them. “This is between me and Adrien!”

“Marinette?” Adrien muttered. She grabbed his arm and smiled.

Suddenly, a sharp pain seared through her head.

“Seamstress,” the calm voice asked, “what are you doing?”

“Taking my revenge,” she said, her voice shaking. “Besides, taking a civilian will bring out the Chat.”

“He’s not involved. Take someone else.”

“But-I don’t—” The pain stopped her again, giving the gorilla time to snatch Adrien from her grasp.

“If you want to take a hostage, why don’t you go bigger? The mayor, or perhaps his daughter? I’m sure one of those is more relevant to your… cause.”

He was right, she thought in a haze. When her head cleared, the car was gone. No matter. There was in fact someone who was more relevant to the story. She had left for an afternoon out with her subordinate, bragging that there was a new bag by one of her favorite designers that she just _had_ to have. She left school at lunch and hadn’t returned, so she could be anywhere.

Let the games begin.

* * *

Adrien meanwhile had the unfortunate advantage of being both the object of akumatized Marinette’s goal and Chloe’s follower on Instagram. He hoped she wasn’t next. The two girls never liked each other. And that was before he waltzed into their lives when they were all fourteen. He picked up on that right away. He sifted through her recent posts and her story, trying to see if she was a target as well.

The trip home was a long one. So far, nothing yet on Chloe’s end. She posted a screenshot of him watching her story and her excitement over it. The first comment was about their relationship and he didn’t care for the rest.

As soon as they pulled up, he raced out of the car, through the front doors of his home, up the stairs, flung his door open, and slammed it shut behind him. He caught his breath and Plagg flew out.

“That was unexpected,” Plagg said to himself. “Of all people!”

“Marinette’s too happy to be akumatized!” Adrien said, still too shocked to believe it himself.

“Yeah, let’s go with that.” Plagg flew in close. “You ready?”

“I think so.” He had never seen Plagg more eager to fight. He’s supposed to be the lazy one. “Claws out!”

He called Ladybug as soon as he jumped out of his window. No answer. He called several times with the same result. He finally reached Chloe just as the Seamstress did. Before she could make a move, he jumped her, making them both tumble down the rooftop to the alley below.

“Who are you, lovely lady?” he asked with his usual charm.

She shoved him off. “Chat Noir,” she said with a smile.

He clutched his chest with faux offense. “Another copycat? You don’t even have ears.”

She chuckled to herself, like she knew something he didn’t. “Just the person I needed to see. Hand me your miraculous and no one gets hurt.”

“I’d prefer to keep it,” he replied nonchalantly. “Besides, it’s the best part about me! Now answer my question.”

“You can call me the Seamstress.” At that, she summoned a sewing needle through her palm that grew nearly three meters long. She posed herself into a fighting stance, the pointy end of the needle extended out to him.

Then he noticed the box hanging around her middle. It was the same box his miraculous came in. Did she have a miraculous already? The only one he knew of that was out was…

“Is that Ladybug’s miraculous?” he asked, readying his staff.

She cocked her head with a scoff. “You noticed that, huh? She was easy enough to take down. And now I have come for yours.”

He was properly angry now. He lunged at her and she blocked with the needle. He needed to get the earrings away from her. She blocked blow after blow, using her feet to try to get hits of her own. He had the advantage here, too. He was taller than she was, but only just barely enough to avoid the kicks. He extended his staff towards her face and blocked it by hitting it upward. It was only for a moment that she was wide open, and he took the opportunity to grab the box. As soon as he had a grip on it, he took off.

“Hey! Bad kitty! Get back here!” she called after him. He used his staff to raise himself to a nearby rooftop and hide behind a chimney. He opened the box and lo and behold, the earrings were inside. They didn’t have the ladybug design, but if they were anything like his ring, they weren’t supposed to be. He breathed a sigh of relief. The moment was immediately shattered by falling bricks overhead. He spun his staff to deflect them and saw the Seamstress overhead. He knew he had the right item then. He ran.

He tried to plan an escape with the little knowledge he knew of the area. He knew there was a subway around somewhere, but he couldn’t remember the street.

“What, no catty remarks?” she yelled. He wanted to respond with every fiber of his being. Maybe if they weren’t enemies with Ladybug’s miraculous at stake, they would have more banter.

“I would, but that’s _sew_ not like you, Marinette!” he said over his shoulder.

She screamed out of frustration. He saw threads looping around him and jumped straight up. The loops closed around his staff and he lost his balance, falling onto his back with a thud. The wind was knocked out of him and the Seamstress caught up quickly. She stood over him and held him down with her foot. She raised the needle over his head and started to bring the point down over the arm with the ring on it.

“Sorry to do this!” he strained and extended his staff at her face. She was knocked back and he didn’t check to see if she was okay. His heart hurt as he ran, but he had his priorities. He needed backup. Marinette was surprisingly good at being overpowered and he needed help.

Ladybug once took him to a man named Master Fu, and he helped with miraculous stuff sometimes.

Finally, he saw the subway entrance and dove in. Luckily, a train had arrived and started emptying its passengers. He hid in the bathroom and destransformed, then ran right back out to catch the train. The doors closed behind him just in time, and he turned to see the Seamstress arrive as well. He ducked down, hoping she didn’t see him as Adrien. He got off three stops later, trying to keep his cool.

Luckily for him as well, it was just the stop he needed. He silently thanked the good luck charm in his pocket and ran straight to the dojo.

* * *

The Seamstress was rightfully pissed off as soon as she lost the black cat. She stabbed the giant needle into the tiled floor with a huff.

“What happened, Seamstress?” Hawkmoth asked angrily.

“I lost the ladybug miraculous. But don’t worry, I have an alternative. I know where there are dozens more. With more powers more than you can imagine.”

Hawkmoth seemed to consider this for a moment. “Lead the way, my apprentice.”

She smiled and made her way to Master Fu.

* * *

Adrien was out of breath and panicking as soon as he arrived. His words were jumbled as he caught Master Fu by surprise.

“Slow down, young hero,” he said soothingly. “What has gotten you in such a panic this evening? Take your time.”

“I think I messed up,” Adrien said. “I rejected a girl at school and she got akumatized and she managed to take down Ladybug but I got the miraculous back as Chat Noir and now she’s after me and I don’t know what to do! I’m alone in this and I don’t feel comfortable giving the ladybug to just anyone because I can’t handle that kind of responsibility so I came straight here for your help!”

Plagg piped up just then. “Marinette was the one who was akumatized. Adrien, I’m hungry.”

Adrien saw Master Fu freeze, his eyes slightly widened. Then he went back to normal and sighed.

“Listen, Adrien, we are in danger here.” He turned towards a phonograph and opened a panel. He entered a code and suddenly over a dozen drawers opened up. This time, it was Adrien’s turn for his eyes to widen. There are more than seven miraculous that exist? “Help me put these into boxes. She’ll be here soon.”

Adrien got up and helped the old man. They placed every miraculous into their own little boxes and into a canvas shopping bag.

“Master Fu, why do we need to do this?” Adrien asked.

“I’m not at liberty to say, but you need to trust me,” Master Fu said, monotone. “Get these to a safe place. I trust them in your capable hands.”

Just then, they heard a subtle thud outside the front door.

“She’s here.”

“How does she even know about this place?”

“No time for questions. Go!” Master Fu shoved Adrien out the back door. “Transform!”

Plagg swiftly flew back to Adrien’s side just as the door slid shut. No sooner did he transform when he heard the front door break down from the other side. With a heavy heart, he ignored the arguing.

“Master Fu will be fine,” a new voice said. Chat Noir was startled, but he relaxed when he saw only Wayzz there. “Once she sees that he’s not a threat and takes what she thinks she needs, she’ll spare him. She might be akumatized, but her heart is still there.”

“I know you’re not at liberty to say,” Chat said, using his staff to bound from building to building. He waited until he landed to finish. “But I still have questions.”

Wayzz didn’t answer for several buildings. “No matter what the answers are, they still won’t improve your current situation. I suggest you find a good place to hide those miraculous charms first.”

Chat sighed, realizing the kwami was right. Then he had an idea. “What if I recruited some people to help?”

Wayzz smiled. “I was hoping you would say that.”

* * *

Marinette didn’t need to break down the door. But she felt that she should to make her intentions known. She was always so careful before. But now she knew that in order for people to understand what she was feeling, she had to go for it with no regrets. She came here for one thing, and one thing only.

“Marinette, how lovely of you to join me,” Master Fu said, a cup of tea in his hands.

The Seamstress smelled a rat. “How long have you been expecting me?” When he didn’t answer, she stalked up to him and asked more violently, slamming her fists down on either side of him. He simply sat, unperturbed. “How. Long?”

“Not long. Gossip travels fast in Paris. Especially if you’re part of the daily news.” He took a long sip.

She narrowed her eyes. She hadn’t done anything newsworthy besides attempt to kidnap Gabriel Agreste’s son. Which would actually make sense given that he would take advantage of the public and try to catch her. But she’d heard no sirens, no public service announcements, no news stories about it.

She stood up and punched the wall in frustration.

“Do you feel better now?”

“Don’t try to reason with me! I know what I need to do!” She balled up her fists and lunged, but didn’t strike. He wasn’t involved. There was no need to hurt a civilian. She shook her head. No, there was a perfect reason! He knew something he wasn’t telling her. Chat Noir must have been here. The dojo-like building was small. Not too many places to hide. But Chat wouldn’t hide. Maybe he wasn’t here.

“Come, sit. Let’s talk about why you’re here.”

“I’m here for the other miraculous.” She went over to the phonograph they were all kept in and lifted the whole thing easily. She was used to being strong as Ladybug. It was so easy to just waltz in and take the phonograph. “I’m surprised you’re not fighting me,” she said, hoisting it into her arms.

“There comes a time when you grow wise enough to do nothing at all. Life has a funny way of working out.”

She scoffed and left the way she came. “I have the collection of miraculous charms for you, Hawkmoth.”

“Excellent,” he crooned. “Bring them to me now!”

* * *

Chat Noir had no problem getting the people he trusted most to join. Alya was the easiest, who was eager to see Trixx again. It was everyone else. He had to protect their identities, so he had to go to everyone individually.

He went to Alya first, simply saying she was needed again. “Of course!” she exclaimed over the phone. “I’m not going to ask how Chat Noir got my personal cell, but I’m not complaining! Tell me where to go.”

“We’re going to meet in front of the Eiffel Tower at sunset. And hopefully we’ll have friends.” He hung up and discreetly dropped off the fox necklace on her balcony. He watched her race out and grab it. He had a lot of work to do, so he didn’t see the conclusion.

Summer left a lot of time between the end of school until sunset. It had already been about two hours since he left fencing club, and he had less than three left to gather his reinforcements.

He scrolled through his phone and stared at Nino’s name for a long time. He’s a faithful friend, for sure. The loudest voice in his head shouted “HE’S YOUR BEST FRIEND, YOU IDIOT.” He caved to his own judgment that he hoped wasn’t poor. Face-to-face it is, then.

Nino was eager, but weary. “Be a superhero? I dunno, bro. Seems like it’s a job for the pros.”

Chat Noir decided to come clean with his friend. “I haven’t told anyone yet, but Ladybug has been defeated, and since I don’t know who she is, I can’t find her and give her miraculous back. I’m alone in this, and I don’t know where else to go.”

Nino slouched, running his hand through his hair. “Man, that sucks. Have you gone to anyone else yet?”

“One, but I haven’t told her anything yet. Besides,” he took a deep breath, “you know the person that has been akumatized. It’s Marinette.”

His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. “Whoa!” He calmed down after a few seconds and said, “I think you’d better open with that next time. I would have said yes sooner.”

“I like the way this one thinks,” Wayzz said, appearing over Chat’s shoulder.

“Chat Noir, look!” Nino said, pointing. He wasn’t scared, but awed.

“Oh yeah! This is Wayzz. He’s a kwami. He helps Ladybug and I transform into superheroes.”

“No experience needed,” added Wayzz. “Everyone starts somewhere.”

“Which one should I give him?” Chat asked.

“I think I’ll take him.”

“What?” both boys exclaimed.

Chat asked, “But how? The miraculous is with-”

“You,” Wayzz said. “Master Fu snuck it into your bag as you two packed them. He didn’t forsake me. And he fully expects me and my miraculous to be returned upon rescuing your friend.”

“D-deal!” Nino said. “When do we start?”

“But what about-” Chat started to say, but Wayzz shook his head.

“I trust your judgment. You should, too.”

Chat took another deep breath. He’d been taking those a lot lately. “Okay.”

He used his staff travel by rooftop again. A couple buildings later, he saw Alix and Nathaniel walking by on a not-so-obvious date. There wasn’t any time to go to them individually, so he took the opportunity to get two sidekicks with one stone. He landed gracefully as his namesake and pitched the idea: Marinette was akumatized, Ladybug was down, and he needed their help. They were skeptical at how he knew they knew her, but didn’t question it when he gave them two random boxes from the canvas bag.

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag now. There will be a small fairy telling you what to do. Trust them and meet me in front of the Eiffel Tower at sunset. When we’re done, I’ll need them back. Can I trust you two to help? Yes? Okay! Cat-ch you later!”

They called after him, but he didn’t look back. He hoped his charisma would convince them. He felt the urge to take out the ladybug miraculous. He couldn’t quite explain the feeling that everything was going to work out, either with luck or anything else. There wasn’t a pulsing like in cartoons. It was more like a feeling. A weight lifting off his shoulders, despite the anxiety of distributing all the miraculous.

He gingerly put the box in his belt and bounded to the next building, outdoor apartments where Ivan was knocking on Mylene’s door. He only knew it was Mylene’s because Ivan was holding flowers. She opened it as Chat Noir landed on the balcony. They both started, then sighed with relief when they saw it was him.

“You startled us,” Mylene said.

“What are you doing here?” Ivan asked.

“I have a proposal for you,” Chat Noir said with a wink. The couple blushed and Chat Noir rescinded, “Not that kind!” Although many of his friends at school wished this.

The rest of the kids were eager to help, and as luck would have it, Chloe was the last one he contacted, and there was one left. They asked for her help in the past and she actually did pretty well. He too a deep breath, hoping that her presence wouldn’t make Marinette worse, but something told him she was necessary. As expected, all of her lights were on as she sat in front of her budoir, maximizing the available lighting for the perfect portrait. He knew this process and it could take hours. He smiled, because that meant Chloe had nothing better to do.

He knocked on her window and watched her jump three meters up in the air, startled. She swerved towards the window and he waved. She was confused, but got up anyway.

“Hey, Chat Noir,” she crooned through the closed door. “What can I do for you?”

“I need your help. Marinette has been akumatized and-”

“Marinette?” she scoffed, turning away and crossing her arms. “She can stay that way, for all I care.” She walked away in a huff.

He suddenly felt the need to get the miraculous out. He knocked again, showing her the box. “Look! You can even transform like us!”

She turned, trying her hardest not to be interested. He knew her well enough to know whether she secretly liked something. After the whole Anti-Bug incident. “I’ll just be in danger! What about my hair?” Her eyes lingered on the box, but she tore her eyes away.

He couldn’t believe he was begging Chloe for help like this.

“Besides, there’s school tomorrow. I can’t be bumped and bruised in front of Adrien.” She flattened her hair and twirled her ponytail as she said it, looking tragic.

An idea popped up, remembering what the Seamstress tried to do just hours ago. “She kidnapped Adrien.”

Something snapped in Chloe. Her body froze, her face draining of all its color before turning red with rage, then back to normal. She stormed to the sliding glass window, flung it open, and got close to Chat.

“She did _what?!_ ”

He almost felt bad about the lie.

* * *

The Seamstress followed the magic instincts that the butterfly gave her all the way to some place unexpected. She had been to Adrien’s house before, but not to this area. It was always sectioned off and hidden. The small dome-like building opened up like an aperture, just small enough for herself and the phonograph. As soon as she was let in, it closed shut. She presented the phonograph like an offering, bowing her head in reverence.

“Yes, good,” Hawkmoth said softly, growing louder. “Open it! Let me see them!”

She didn’t bother with the code. She was never told but it didn’t matter. They all belonged to Hawkmoth now. She took her needle, made it the size of a crowbar, and forced to box open. The middle popped up, then the side drawers opened on their own. But they weren’t there.

None of them were.

Hawkmoth yelled with rage, then turned on the Seamstress, forcing her to her hands and knees. “Bring me those miraculous back! And don’t fail me this time!”

“Yes, Hawkmoth!” she strained. It hurt, and she knew she should be angry, but she wasn’t. She failed, but she had another chance. She remembered all the other akumatized people and always thought their devotion was misplaced or for a reason. But she didn’t need a reason. Hawkmoth was power, and she respected it.

And that’s all the reason she needed.

* * *

Everyone was assembled on time in front of the Eiffel Tower. Chat had warned everyone to not reveal their identities to anyone else, even if it seemed obvious who they were. Even though Chat Noir handed out the miraculous himself, he still had trouble keeping everyone straight as they arrived. He had no idea what the miraculous charms even did once they were transformed. Some were obvious, like the ram earrings and and the paw print. He thought they looked like the Chinese Zodiac. But others were not so obvious. Rose was the light green one, Juleka was the purple one, Nino looked great as a ninja turtle, but Chloe hadn’t shown up yet.

“We’re waiting for one more!” he called over everyone. They were getting to know each other and practicing, but they needed to come up with a plan.

“I am here!” the one said. Everyone stopped and turned. Standing on top of a nearby statue was Chloe in all yellow. In three words, she managed to get their attention where Chat tried to yell over them to no avail. Was this her miraculous’ power? Or did they immediately recognize Chloe’s voice and were in total shock? Before anyone else could do anything, Chat got in front of her and spoke.

“Now that I have your attention, we are all here because Marinette has been akumatized. Everyone here has had the pleasure of being in her shoes. Even though now that I think of it, you usually don’t remember.”

Mylene raised her hand. “I’ve had nightmares sometimes. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think I need traumatic experience to save my friend.” A few of the others nodded in agreement.

“She’s our friend,” Rena Rouge said. “That’s all the reason I need.” She gave Mylene a thumbs-up.

Chat sighed with relief. “Now that that’s out of the way, here’s my plan. I’ll be open to suggestions, all except hurting her. Hopefully we won’t get hurt in the process. I’ve tried fighting her off by myself, but I failed. Now first we’ll try talking to her. Maybe your voices will get through. If not, I have a plan that involves grabbing the miraculous and destroying it ourselves. Without Ladybug, though...” He tried not to think about it, nervously placing his hand on the pouch containing the ladybug miraculous. “But I know we can do it!”

Some of them applauded and cheered, while others were still nervous.

“If I weren’t so unimpressed, I’d be touched!” Seamstress’s voice rang over the crowd. They all turned to see her standing the statue opposite Chloe. Her voice was unrecognizable to him. The two girls’ eyes met and the tension could be cut with a butter knife.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Marinette!” Chloe taunted. “It was only a matter of time before you got akumatized like the rest of us.”

“Hey!” Chat Noir said, trying to tell Chloe that she wasn’t helping.

The Seamstress glowered. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you have no right to say that!”

“Hah! My name is Queen Bee and you’d better remember it. And I know exactly who you are, and that you deserve everything you get! Besides, the Marinette I know would never kidnap the love of _my_ life.”

The Seamstress summoned her weapon again, returning to its same larger-than-life size.

She suddenly looked to her side, as if listening to something. Ivan (or whatever his name was when he was transformed) tried to sneak up on her, but she took him down without hesitation. She swung the thick needle to her side and sent him flying behind her towards the street. A few passing cars honked, but avoided him. Juleka and Rose came at her with a glowing rope, but the Seamstress’ needle suddenly turned into a seam ripper and they lost their balance trying to wrap it around her. Kim flew in from above and managed to grapple her, and Chat saw Max aiming some kind of neon gun at her. She ducked down, swung her leg behind her to trip Kim, and used him as a human shield to defend herself against that same colored neon attack that looked like lightning.

So far, this plan was going terribly. Well, their lack of a unified plan was, anyway. Chat Noir wondered how she was so good at fighting. Normally, the akumatized villains would rely on their new powers, but not Marinette. Mylene, Nino, Rena Rouge, and a few of the others stood behind Chat, while Queen Bee and Sabrina stayed on the statue. Queen Bee looking disappointed.

“Queen Bee,” Chat said, “Can you do something about this?”

“I’m thinking! But if she won’t say where Adrien is, I can’t do very much.”

“Chl—” he cut himself off, thoroughly done with her obsession. “I lied to get you to come here! Adrien is fine. He’s doing a modeling job right now. Can you help us for Pete’s sake! And stop your obsession before it gets us all killed!”

Just then, she hit her fist against her palm. “That’s it!” She exclaimed. “I saw the whole thing go down! He rejected her and she’s sad. But…” She paused to think. “I wonder.”

Chat Noir slapped his forehead in disbelief. She wasn’t helping and the situation was growing worse by the minute.

“What’s the matter, Chat Noir?” The Seamstress taunted, unaffected by six of her friends attempting to take her down. “No puns today? Cat got your tongue? Wow, that _is_ fun!” She giggled to herself, pinning Kim to the ground with the eye of her needle without looking. She turned her gaze to the larger boy, who was shocked at the development. “I know you. Why do I know you?”

“Marinette, stop this!” Rena Rouge yelled.

The Seamstress looked up and turned her head back to the group behind Chat Noir. He stiffened, but her eyes were on Rena.

The Seamstress lifted her needle and turned to face them head-on. Kim tried to get up, but she shrunk her needle down to cane-sized and twirled some thread in the air. It swirled around her head and shot to Kim, wrapping itself around him.

“Real names? Really?” The Seamstress laughed. “Fine. I’ll just call you by yours, _Alya_.”

Everyone sucked in a breath. Chat only thought, _How did she even know?_

“Alya?” Nino asked. “But you’re so good at this? Why didn’t you—”

“Long story,” she said under her breath. Then louder, “How did you even know?”

The Seamstress laughed like she was reveling in some kind of inside joke. “As for the rest of you, I really have no idea who you even are and why you’re even here.” A brief pause. “I’m working on it! And they’re all right here!” She smiled, like she already won, then poised to attack.

“Get behind me!” Chat Noir and Nino shouted, bringing out their weapons. Nino with his shield, and Chat with his trusty staff. She lunged for Nino, who deflected the needle back, but then she came at him from his opening. Much to his own surprise, Chat read her movements and blocked her attack.

“Marinette, I know you’re in there somewhere,” Chat said, standing between her and the rest of his friends. “We are your friends, you can believe that.”

Her smile twitched.

“You have such a big heart, girl,” Rena said reassuringly.

The Seamstress gripped the needle.

“Whatever it is, we can help you,” Mylene piped up.

There was a flicker of the real Marinette, and she dropped her smile. “That’s not the point,” she said through gritted teeth, the needle growing.

“If you’re mad about Chloe, you—” Nino started to say, but was cut off.

“I said that’s not the point!” The Seamstress shouted, swinging her needle and knocking the group backwards.

Oh, the puns that were going through Chat’s head at that very moment.

“Chloe isn’t the issue,” she said. “It’s Adrien. After all the pining and the spilling of my heart, he broke it! He firmly rejected me, and I couldn’t handle it.” She winced. “But that doesn’t matter now. What matters is the power that disappointment has given me.” She twirled the needle above her head once more, gathering a thread big enough to wind them all up.

All of a sudden, a flash of yellow tackled the Seamstress to the ground. It was Queen Bee herself. At that, everyone around got the same idea and held down some part of the villain. Chat Noir took her right arm.

“Let me tell you about rejection!” She yelled in the Seamstress’ face. “You think I don’t know that Adrien tries his hardest to rebuff me every day? You think I’m not aware that he clearly has a crush... on my favorite superhero?” She scoffed. “You don’t know a damn thing, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” She spat out her nemesis’ name. “If I can have hope, you can, too.”

It suddenly occurred to Chat Noir where the akuma might be hiding. In fact, Adrien was wearing it to school just today.

“Queen Bee, the akuma!” He shouted. “It’s in the ribbon wrapped around her right wrist!”

* * *

Queen Bee didn’t hesitate. She made a grab for it, but the Seamstress wasn’t having it. She yelled out of frustration and threw Ivan off, who was holding her left wrist, and several of the others holding down her limbs. When her arms were free, she managed to shove Queen Bee away, and snatched Chat Noir’s staff while she was at it. She threw it into the road and took off running towards the tower. She leapt from beam to beam, not caring that the elevator was in motion. As soon as she got to the top, Hawkmoth butted in.

“Seamstress!” He shouted in her head. “How many discussions have we had about this? You are _my_ slave and you _will_ get those miraculous charms from them!”

She cried out in pain, falling to her knees.

“Are. We. Clear?”

It took her a moment to clear her mind and see the truth. Just then, she heard Chat Noir’s signature tink-thud of his metal staff landing before his boots behind her. She turned to him, keeping herself as blank as possible, then gripped the ribbon on her right wrist. She pulled at it as hard as she could. As soon as she started pulling, Hawkmoth’s words rang through her head like the bells of Notre Dame.

“Seamstress! Stop this! Now!”

“No!” she screamed. “Chat!”

Chat Noir understood and started pulling, too. Her entire body tried to get away, trying to twist itself out of Chat’s grip. Finally, after a painful struggle, the ribbon ripped and the butterfly flew out.

With an unceremonious clink against the cement, the friendship bracelet Marinette had used as a good luck charm around Adrien fell to the floor. Marinette turned back to normal, but was still out of it.

In a moment of desperation, Chat Noir embraced her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, knowing that she would never know how true that was. She would have no idea that he was the one who caused this.

She wrapped her arms around him too, making the hug even closer. He felt his heart skip a little, feeling her familiar warmth. This was the closest he had ever felt with anyone.

“Chat Noir, we need to catch the akuma before it flies away,” she whispered back.

Taken aback, he awkwardly let her go. “What did you say?”

She squeezed her eyes and opened her hand. “I’d like my kwami back, please.”

His jaw dropped. He scooted away and put his hand on the box protectively. He looked up to see the butterfly still flying away, so it wasn’t a trick. He cautiously took it out and gave it to her. As soon as the box landed in her palm, her eyes opened, filling with tears.

When she opened it, and the red kwami popped out, they both broke out into tears.

“I’m so sorry, Tikki!” Marinette sobbed. “I-I-I w-was so l-lost and I--”

“It’s okay, Marinette!” Tikki soothed her. “You’ve been through so much!”

“Spots on,” Marinette said like it was the most natural thing in the world. And right before Chat’s eyes, she transformed into Ladybug. She turned to him and said, “Pick up your jaw, silly kitty. You’ll let the flies in.”

He closed his mouth and gulped. Everything suddenly made a whole lot of sense. The past two years all added up so, so nicely.

She turned serious, but a trace of melancholy was still there, like she hadn’t quite shaken off the negative feelings that got them both here in the first place. “We need to catch the akuma. Lucky charm!” She summed the lucky charm and it turned into a cupcake. Ladybug’s face turned white, like she knew exactly what it represented. “Get the others and meet them at my house!” she said frantically.

“Yes, ma’am!” he saluted. He’ll have to process this all later.

She nodded at him and flung her yo-yo away. She swung away and Chat steeled himself to gather his friends.

He leapt off the side of the tower and extended his staff to the ground, using it as a part cushion, part fireman pole to safely land on the ground. Everyone flocked around him, asking all sorts of questions. He answered them with one:

“It’s a long story, but we need to get to Marinette’s house.”

Ladybug wanted to be wrong. She didn’t want the butterfly to target the people she loved most. She sighed with relief when she saw that the butterfly hadn’t landed yet, but she didn’t relax quite yet. She was only a block away from her house.

“Not today, little akuma,” she called after it. She flung her yo-yo at it and caught it. As soon as the yo-yo came back to her, she got a sudden chill. She thought she heard Hawkmoth in her head, and she hesitated. She hardly noticed the sound of a crowd of teenage vigilantes approaching her, calling her name.

“Ladybug, you made it!” Rena Rouge said, relief in her voice. A flurry of questions filled her ears as she held the trapped butterfly against herself.

She didn’t know why she stopped. She remembered being akumatized, which never happened with the people she saved. Maybe it was because she was Ladybug, and exposed to magic so often. Maybe it was that she couldn’t let that part of herself go. She _liked_ being over-powered, she _wanted_ to feel those negative feelings and wallow in them.

Then, she came to realize that what she didn’t like was not being in control of her own body. She felt violated and insecure. She felt afraid. It wasn’t a good feeling, and she didn’t want to sulk in it for too long.

With new resolve, she gripped the yo-yo and purified the butterfly. She opened it with a new perspective and watched it fly away. “Bye-bye, little butterfly.” And her old self.

“Ladybug!” Chat Noir said, suddenly next to her. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” she said, watching the butterfly disappear into the sky.

“So...” he trailed off. “Are you going to use that thing or not?” He pointed to the lucky charm.

“Give me a sec.” She took a deep breath. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

As she tossed it into the air, the ladybugs flew off, fixing things that she broke along the way. It was a long day, that’s for sure. They came back to her and swirled around her and Chat Noir, hiding them from the others. A few of them surrounded her hand until she lifted it up, and gave her friendship bracelet back. Her heart clenched, remembering that it was the one she made for Adrien and herself. No wonder the butterfly attached itself. So many feelings were put into this small piece of jewelry. She looked up to see that Chat had been staring at her.

Chat Noir gave her his most encouraging expression. He was still processing the fact that not only did he reject Marinette, he also rejected Ladybug, who had actually liked him all along as Adrien, and that she had no idea that she had rebuffed his advances as Chat Noir over and over again, and that maybe he shouldn’t be as annoying as before, and maybe…

“Now that you know who I am, maybe you can keep it a secret?” she asked.

Chat swallowed a small lump in his throat. “Yeah. For sure.”

Ladybug smiled. “Thank you.”

The ladybugs finally dispersed, leaving the two exposed to their allies.

“Whew,” Chat said, “they were really starting to _bug_ me.”

Ladybug, along with every single girl, rolled her eyes while the boys started snickering.

“In any case,” Ladybug said, addressing the rest. “We all still have work to do.”

She realized just then that not only had she learned a lesson on the abuse of power, but she also quietly thanked the miraculous for retaining her memories of where exactly Hawkmoth was hiding.

She turned in the general direction of Adrien’s house. “I remember where Hawkmoth is.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm aware this ends on a cliffhanger. It feels like a more natural ending for a series like this.


End file.
